The History of the Hingham Police Department

Brian Edgar Aiguier

Patrolman, Hingham Police Dept. (Retired)

From the inception of the settlement with The Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1633 through 1998.

The Town of Hingham was established on September 2, 1635. It was the twelfth town to be founded in Massachusetts. It has a total of 22.5 square miles of land. This coastal community is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on its north side, Hull, Cohasset, and Scituate on its west side, Norwell and Rockland on its southern boundaries, and Weymouth on its eastern side. The town is located approximately fifteen miles from Boston.

According to modern day historian, John P. Richardson, Hingham may have had settlers earlier than 1633. Numerous coastal settlements from Cape Anne to Wessagusset (Weymouth), some established by fishermen from England's southwest, failed in the 1620s and stragglers had moved down the coast as far as Conohasset (Cohasset) and Nantasket (Hull).Places along Hingham's shoreline from Martin's cove to Otis Hill, Walton's Cove, and Tucker's Swamp, preserve Southwest English names.
Hingham was first named Bare Cove by its inhabitants, and the first indication on record shows that Bare Cove was taxed by the colonial government (England) in 1634. Hingham (Bare Cove) was one of the original 12 towns to be part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony,
The only concerted "invasion" of East Anglians, arrived from the ship Diligent in 1638. This was when Robert Peck of Hingham, England, a minister, and fugitive from Episcopal persecution, sought refuge and brought twenty-plus families with him, In 1640, there were approximately 130 families, consisting of a population of approximately 700.
Records show that the first Constable, who also served as the first town clerk was Joseph Andrews. He was sworn in at the May Court in 1635. Prior to this a Watch and Ward was set up. The system of the Watch and Ward was originally set up in Boston in 1630, and was formally organized in a meeting on February 27, 1636, at a Boston Town Meeting. As in England, all young men over 16 years of age were required to take their turn on watch duty without pay. Their major duty was the protection of property from fire, rather than the suppression of crime.

As much as 60 percent of the original settlers of the town moved from Hingham, before their deaths. Disenchantment with the way the town was being run by local officials, religious-political differences with the Massachusetts Bay Colony, with vast numbers relocating to the Plymouth Bay Colony, brought the population down to 400 inhabitants. By 1647, the number of males over the age of 21 was only 75. New settlers over the coming years was slow, but sure.

As late as 1768, only 25 barristers (lawyers) were in the entire province. Lawsuits were unpopular, issues were handled politically rather than legally. The newspaper, the Salem Mercury reported in 1789, that there had only been one jury trial between 1740 and 1789, and only one law suit in the prior six years. Also, the office of Constable, that symbol of legal authority, was hard to fill. Nobody wanted it. Rich men bought their way out, and others sought to be excused, This trend of avoiding the Constable's job increased after 1720, and definitely rose after 1740. It is believed that this trend marked a weakening of community responsibility and solidarity. Family and church control were breaking down.

By 1763, the alarming increase in drunkenness and disorderly conduct led to the forming of a committee to recommend remedies. There were approximately 15 inntaverns in Hingham, and the committee opted for only five. The proposal was rejected by the town. The harbor area was a center for sea-faring men and a few "disreputable and stealthy" women. Many taverns were located nearby, and incidents flourished.

Massachusetts was virtually in a state of war for forty-six of the seventy-five years between her mother country (England), France and Spain, between the years 1689 and 1763. These wars were often fought at sea by warships and privateers bent on disrupting the enemy's West Indian trade. Canada was still French and could threaten the coastal settlements. The French made alliances with disaffected and dispossessed Indians to harass English colonies, which included the.settlement in Hingham.

Hingham men served up and down the coast and on the Canadian border. In the 1740s there was war with France and Canada. In 1756, the French and Indian War took place. Hingham men again took up the "battle cry" and enlisted their services for Canada.- Roughly 224 men served on the town quotas during the 1740s and 1750s, at a time when adult males in Hingham numbered no more than 700. It finally ended with the British victories at Quebec and Montreal, and the Treaty of Paris in 1763 established British control over North America. Hingham men had fought and died as loyal Englishmen. Soon after this victory, England appeared as a new enemy by taxing and attempting to control New England Trade. This began the labor pains of a new nation's birth, which encompassed the settlers of Hingham.

The town's system of poor relief was traditional and modest, handled by the Overseers of the Poor. A small part of the system consisted of the poor farm and almshouse, the old brick building of 1833 off Beal Street near the Back River, today's Project Turnabout. Those in total poverty, often elderly, some with incapacitating illnesses, were admitted here, along with thieves, incendiaries, and town drunks, until the Lock-Up opened in 1874. The almshouse averaged 15 to 18 occupants.

The years after the Civil War, inventions abounded that would revolutionize daily life. Hingham residents expected safety, comfort and convenience. The more they got, the more they expected. Such innovations as a safe water system for consumption was developed. The Board of Health struggled to control contagious diseases. The demand for safety in the streets was met with the arrival of electric lighting, but it also stirred debates over hiring policeman. The telephone brought not only convenience, but added the safety of rapid communication. Also a brand new and efficient Fire Department, aided by hydrants and electric alarms, made some progress in the control of fires. These systems came to Hingham between 1880 and 1889, and were all linked to each other. However, there was no Police Department formed and no hiring of police officers to maintain law and order. The Constable's task was ever so burdensome, and he still wore many hats.

Through 1880 to 1887 there was much concern over the safety issue, but the town was not ready to pay policemen for ensuring peace and tranquility. Incidents such as loafing at Broad Bridge, nude bathing at the mill pond, vandalism in the North Ward, consisting of unhinging and destroying gates, trampling gardens, throwing stones at the windows of houses, storefronts, and factories, damaging street signs and lanterns, stealing fruit and hens, burglarizing homes and stores, were logged as offenses committed. In 1880, there were two night "policemen" on duty. The records reflect them as policemen, however, no police department had been organized as of yet. Their salary was $2.50 per night. However after a savings bank got burglarized twice, the treasurer of the bank, moved the town to reduce their salary to $1.50 a night. In 1885, the motion was finally approved and the town found themselves without any night "policemen".